Back in the hunter-gatherer era, belonging and loyalty to the tribe played a vital role in survival. At that time, individuality and independent decision-making could pose life-threatening risks, and people had to follow the tribe’s collective decisions to protect themselves and their families. This group-oriented lifestyle required alignment and shared thinking, and the human brain naturally adapted to social environments and group rules. Shutting down critical thinking and submitting to the tribe was a survival mechanism then.

But in the modern world, cult mentality can have serious negative effects on mental and cognitive health, even increasing the risk of dementia. Here are a few key reasons:

1. Social Isolation: Cult members are often cut off from family, friends, and the outside community. This social isolation can lead to loneliness and lack of interaction. Research shows that regular and broad social interactions help maintain brain health, while a decline in such interactions can contribute to cognitive decline.
2. Chronic Stress: Cults often create high-pressure, stressful environments that put members under constant psychological strain. Chronic stress increases hormones like cortisol, which over time damages the brain and raises the risk of cognitive diseases such as dementia.
3. Restricted Access to Information and Education: Many cults limit members’ access to outside information or prevent them from continuing their education. These restrictions reduce mental activity and intellectual stimulation, both essential for maintaining cognitive health.
4. Imposed Negative Thought Patterns: Cults frequently enforce restrictive and negative patterns of thinking, suppressing critical thinking and creativity. These negative patterns weaken cognitive abilities and mental flexibility.

The lack of free thinking and mental flexibility causes cult members to stagnate, preventing them from solving the very problems that led to the cult’s existence in the first place. This not only blocks intellectual and emotional growth but gradually puts their cognitive health at serious risk.